Automatic device for operating the seat frame and back support of a hair dressing and beauty treatment chair



March 28, 1967 HIDEHARU HoRlE 3,311,407

AUTOMATIC DEVICE FOR OPERATING THE SEAT FRAME AND BACK SUPPORT OF A HAIR DRESSING AND BEAUTY TREATMENT CHAIR Filed May 4, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR HIDEHARU HORIE ATTORNEY.

March 28, 1967 HIDEHARU HORIE 3,311,407

' AUTOMATIC DEVICE FOR OPERATING THE SEAT FRAME AND BACK SUPPORT OF A HAIR DRESSING AND I BEAUTY TREATMENT CHAIR Filed May 4, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 o o I \NVENTOR BY WW ATTORNEY.

HIDEHARU HORIEA 3,311,407 AUTUMATIQ DEVHJE FUR OPERATING THE SEAT FRAME AND BACK SUPPQRT OF A HAIR DRESSING AND BEAUTY TREAT- MENT CHAHR Hideharn Horie, 58 Banchi, Kamiai-cho, Nrshmari-ltu,

Osaka, Japan Filed May 4, 1965, Ser. No. 453,120 Ciairns priority, application Japan, Apr. 8, 1965, 49/219,929 1 Claim. (Cl. 297-71) This invention relates to an automatic device for operating the seat frame and back support of a hair dressing and beauty treatment chair, more particularly the device in the hair dressing and beauty treatment chair which will automatically raise or lower its seat frame and bring up or down its back support with the aid of liquid pressure, which is generated by a motor pump. During the power stoppage, however, the back support can be freely raised up or brought down by the use of the hand lever.

It is one object of the present invention to provide a hair dressing and beauty treatment chair wherein a cylindrical leg beneath the seat frame is utilized as the pump to raise or lower the frame by controlling liquid pressure, while the back supporting plate which moves jointly with the foot rest is conected to the pump for bringing it up and also to the spring for bringing it down, so that both the foot rest and back supporting plate are brought up or down by means of the liquid pressure and the resilience of the said spring. In the liquid passage connected to the pump for raising or lowering the seat frame are provided a check valve and motor pump for generating the liquid pressure, while in the electric circuit of the motor pump is arranged a switch which permits the motor pump for raising or lowering the seat frame to work only when it is closed. On the other hand, in the liquid passage connected to the motor pump for bringing up the back supporting plate is provided the motor pump, in the electric circuit of which is arranged the switch, while from the passage is branched out another liquid passage through the intermediary of a hand valve, which is operated during power stoppage to raise up or bring down the back supporting plate without opposing the liquid pressure, while in the other liquid passage is provided the electromagnetic valve, to the electric circuit of which is arranged the switch, which is closed when the liquid pressure of the motor pump for raising up the back support plate, which opposes the resilience of the spring for bringing down the plate, should be taken off.

With this and other objects in View, which will become apparent in the following detailed description, the present invention will be clearly understood in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the chair designed according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken along the lines A-A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the foot lever of the chair;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary axial section indicating the interior of the cylinder for raising or lowering the seat frame; and

FIG. 5 is a scherntaic illustration of the cylinder for bringing up or down the back supporting plate and also the liquid passage.

Referring now to the drawings, the mechanism of raising or lowering the seat frame 3 comprises a piston 4 which is suspended beneath the seat frame 3 and is inserted into a cylinder 2 standing erect upon a base 1 and, as liquid is fed into the cylinder 2 from its lower part, both the seat frame 3 and the piston 4 move upwardly, while both move down upon releasing the liquid from the cylinder. A liquid passage 6 is arranged from the liquid tank 5 beneath the pipe 6" standing within the cylinder 2, into which is inserted the piston 4 which is hollow, as shown in FIG. 4.

Two electric pumps which are described-below as a motor pump 7 and as a motor pump 25 are used. The motor pump 7 is disposed at about midway of the passage 6 to raise the seat frame 3 while the motor pump 25 is disposed about midway the liquid passage 24 in order to stand the back supporting plate. A switch 8 is arranged in the electric circuit of the motor pump 7, while the check valve 9, which opposes the forced moving direction of the liquid, is provided halfway the liquid passage 6 coming from the motor pump 7 to the piston 4 and another passage 6' is arranged to run to the liquid tank 5 from the midway of the passage 6, which comes from the check valve 9 to the piston 4. The passage 6 is provided with the relief valve 10 which is worked by the resilience of the coil spring 11.

The above-mentioned mechanism operates in the following manner: When the switch 8 is closed, the motor pump 7 is driven to suck in the liquid from the liquid tank 5, and opens the check valve Q to force the liquid into the piston 4, to move both the piston 4 and the seat frame 3 upwardly. When the switch 8 is opened, the motor pump 7 stops forcing the liquid into the piston 4 and closes the check valve 9 to stop the rising seat frame 3 halfway.

When a relief valve 10, controlling the passage 6', is opened in opposition to the coil spring 11, so as to cause the liquid, which has been forced into the piston 4, to return into the tank 5 through the passage 6', the seat frame 3 moves downwardly and when the downward pressure given to the check valve 10 is removed, the valve 10 closes on account of the resilience of the coil spring 11 and the liquid pressure in the piston 4, so that the seat frame 3 comes to a halt halfway.

The mechanism of moving the back supporting plate and the foot rest will now be described in connection with FIG. 1.

To the back side of the seat frame 3 is axially fixed by a pivot 13 one end of the 'back supporting plate 12, the lower side of which is of U-shape, and is suspended, while to the front side of the seat frame 3 is axially fixed by a pivot 15 the upper end of the foot rest 14, and 'both the back supporting plate 12 and the foot rest 14 are mutually connected by a connecting rod 16, which is shiftable forward to make the foot rest 14 jump up forward with the pivot 15, where it is axially fixed, while the back supporting plate 12 leans backward with the pivot 13, where it is axially fixed, as above-mentioned. When the connecting rod 16 is shifted backward, both the back supporting plate 12 and the foot rest 14 reversely stand erect substantially vertical.

To the front part of the connecting rod 16 is fixed the front end of a piston 17, while the rear end of a cylinder 18, into which is inserted the piston 17, is se cured to the seat frame 3 and the liquid is fed in front of the piston 17, so as to move the connecting rod 16 backward. On the other hand, the connecting rod 16 moves forward on account of the resiliency of a spring 19, one end of which is fixed to the front side of the seat frame 3 and the other end to the lower side of the back sup porting plate 12.

As shown in FIG. 5, a passage 22 is arranged from the cylinder 18 to a liquid tank 20, provided halfway with an electromagnetic valve 21, in the electric circuit of which is disposed a switch 23, while another liquid passage 24 is branched out from the passage 22 to directly connect with the liquid tank 2% and in the passage 24 are arranged a motor pump and a check valve 29, while the electric circuit of the motor is provided with a switch 26. On the other hand, an additional liquid passage 27 is arranged on the cylinder 18 from the liquid tank 2! provided with a manual valve 28. When the switch 28 is pressed to close the circuit to drive the motor pump 25, so as to suck in the liquid from the tank 2t} through the passage 24 and open the check valve 29, in order to force the liquid into the cylinder 18, the piston 17 is pressed to incline both the back supporting plate 12 and the foot rest 14.

When the switch 26 is opened, to stop the motor pump 25, the pressure applied to the liquid is removed and the check valve 29 is closed, while the back supporting plate 12 stops its inclining movement. If the switch 23 is opened to close the electromagnetic valve 21 and to shut off the reverse current of the liquid, the liquid remaining in the cylinder 18 opposes the pull of the spring 19 and the back supporting plate 12 stops in its erect position. It is preferable, to arrange the switches 23 and 26 near the arm-rest of the chair, so that the back supporting plate may be moved easily and quickly.

In the chair, according to the present invention, the motor pump 7 for raising or lowering the seat frame 3 and the motor pump 25 for inclining or erecting the back supporting plate 12, are respectively, operated at the same time, so that both the seat frame 3 and the back supporting plate 12 can be quickly operated and their movement can be optionally stopped and their positions or their inclination can be freely changed or maintained, as required by stopping the driving motor pumps or controlling the valves.

Besides, in the above-mentioned chair, according to the present invention, both the back supporting plate 12 and the foot rest 14 can be freely operated even during power stoppage by passing the liquid through the passage 27, because the manual valve 28 is provided in the passage 27. When the valve 28 is manually opened, the back supporting plate 12 inclines on account of the pull of the spring 19, while the liquid in the cylinder 18 is returned to the tank 20 from the passage 27 passing through the manual valve 28 without opposing the movement of the piston 17. On the other hand, when the back supporting plate 12 is erected in opposition to the spring 19, the piston 17 moves backward, while the liquid in the tank 20 is fed into the cylinder through the passage 27, passing through the manual valve 28. When the latter is closed in this condition, the liquid is shut off and the back supporting plate 12 can be maintained in any inclination, as may be required. In this way, both the back supporting plate 12 and the foot rest 14 can be freely and easily operated even during power stoppage.

Besides, it is essential for the hair dressing and beauty treatment chair to have a freely revolving seat, which can be easily controlled. For this purpose, the abovementioned chair, according to the present invention has the following mechanism: On both sides in front of the cylinder 2 are axially fixed by pivots 32 and 33 two L-shaped levers and 31 oppositely of each other, While a spring 34, which opposes the downward movement of the lever 30, is arranged downward with its upper side contacting the knob of the switch 8, as shown in FIG. 3, while the head of a relief valve 10 is made to contact the lower side of the other lever 31. On the other hand, a split collar 35, which is connected to the top of the cylinder 2 with the aid of a pin 44 is arranged such, as to embrace the piston 4 and, from one end of the split of the said collar 35 to its other end, is screwed a bolt 36, from the head end of which is projected an arm lever 37 with a connecting rod 38 hanging down from its tip. When this connecting rod 38 is pulled downwardly, the bolt 36, which is secured to the arm lever 37, revolves and the split collar 35 contracts to squeeze and presses the piston 4, so as to control the revolving seat. If the connecting spective outsides of the L-shaped levers 30 and 31 are axially secured by pivots 41 and 42 the middle portion of the foot lever 39 and 49, the respective front ends of which are connected to an axial lever 43, to which is connected the lower end of the connecting rod 38. As shown in PEG. 1, when either one of the foot levers 39 and 40 is kicked up by the tiptoe, the foot levers 39 and 49, which are connected to the axial lever 43, revolve at the same time with the pivots 41 and 42, where they are axially fixed, so that the connecting rod 38 is pulled downwardly, to control the revolving seat.

As shown in FIGS. 2-4, when the foot lever 39 on the right side is pushed down by the tiptoe, the axial lever 43 contacts the parts 32 and 33, where both L-shaped levers 30 and 31 are axially fixed, as abovernentioned, so that the revolving movement of the foot levers 39 with the pivot at the point indicated by 41 is controlled. If the foot lever is forcibly pushed down further, a force is applied to the pivot 4-1, and the foot lever 39 and the L-shaped lever 30 are pushed downwardly with the pivots of the axial lever 43 and the part 32, respectively, in opposition to the resiliency of the spring 34, so that the switch 8 is closed and the seat frame 3 is allowed to go upward. But, when the foot lever 39 is released, the resiliency of the spring 343- prevails to open the switch 8. Consequently the upward movement of the seat frame 3 stops.

In contrast, when the foot lever 40 on the left side is pushed downwardly by the tiptoe, the L-shaped lever moves downwardly to open the relief valve 15) in opposition to the coil spring 11, so that the liquid beneath and inside the piston 4 can return to the tank 5 and the seat frame 3 is allowed to move downward. If the foot lever 46 is released, the coil spring 11 gains in strength, to open the relief valve 10. Consequently, the downward movement of the seat frame 3 is stopped halfway.

Since the switch 8, which is provided in the electric circuit of the motor pump 7 for the liquid pressure to raise the seat frame as above-mentioned, is contacted with the L-shaped lever 30, which is subject to the resistance of the spring 34, the seat frame 3 can be quickly raised by stepping on the foot lever 3 and the seat frame will be automatically stopped as the switch 8 is opened by the resiliency of the spring 34, when the foot lever 39 is released, so that the seat frame 3 can be easily and speedily operated. On the other hand, as the relief valve 10 is also contacted with the L-shaped lever 30 to lower the seat frarne by the use of the foot lever 40, its structure is much simplified with the decreased difficulties and it is more economical in comparison with the conventional electrically operated chairs.

Besides, since the hold ofthe split collar 35 for controlling the rotation of the seat frame is worked by utilizing the foot lever, such .a mechanism can be very simple, and the movement of the seat frame will never be hampered by the movement of the foot lever, because the latter movement is the upward movement, which is different from the former one. Thus, the seat frame 3 can be moved upwardly or downwardly and in any direction or angle without using the hand and during the hairdressing or beauty treatment.

Furthermore, while it is almost impossible to shave the human face during the power stoppage in the conventional chairs, inasmuch as the back supporting plate cannot be made to stand upward or lay downward during the stoppage, the device according to the present invention allows as easy shaving during that time.

In addition, since one motor pump can be provided above the base plate 1 and the other one beneath the seat frame 3, the liquid passage between the pump and the cylinder will never be twisted as in the case of the conventional chairs, while both movements of the seat frame and the back supporting plate can be conveniently synchronized in the case of the chair according to the present invention.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, many modifications thereof can be made by one skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the present invention being determined by the objects and the claim.

What I claim is:

An automatic device for operating the seat frame and back supporting plate of a hair-dressing and beauty treatment chair, comprising,

a seat frame,

a first piston secured to said seat frame,

a first cylinder containing hydraulic fluid and receiving said first piston for reciprocating movement therein, to raise and lower, respectively, said seat frame therey,

a base supporting said first cylinder in vertical position,

a tank containing said hydraulic fluid,

a motor pump operatively connecting said first cylinder with said tank to apply pressure to said hydraulic fluid in said chamber,

a back supporting plate of U-shape being pivotally secured to said seat frame,

a foot rest,

the front side of said seat frame being pivotally secured to the upper end of said foot rest,

a connecting rod connecting said back supporting plate with said foot rest,

a second piston secured to the front part of said connecting rod,

a second cylinder secured to said seat frame and receiving said second piston for reciprocating movement therein,

means for controlling the position of said seat frame and of said back supporting plate,

a spring secured to the front side of said seat frame and to the lower side of said back supporting plate, respectively, and urging a forward movement of said connecting rod,

two L-shaped levers pivotally secured to the front of said first cylinder,

a vertically disposed spring opposing the downward movement of one of said levers,

a switch,

the upper end of said spring engaging said switch,

a relief valve engaged by thelower side of the other of said levers,

a split collar connected to the top of said first cylinder and embracing said first piston,

a bolt connecting the ends of said split collar,

an arm lever rigidly secured to said bolt,

a connecting rod pivotally secured to said arm lever, so that upon pulling said connecting rod, said bolt being rotated,

foot levers secured to said L-shaped levers by means of an axle extending through said L-shaped levers and through said foot levers,

the lower end of said connecting rod being secured to said axle, so that upon foot operating of said foot levers, said connecting rod is pulled downwardly to control said seat frame, and

manually operated valve means controlling the movement of said second piston in said second cylinder, and thereby controlling the position of said back supporting plate.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,352,678 7/1944 Angell 348-404 2,653,648 9/1953 Marshall 297347 2,854,061 9/1958 Rornito 248-404 3,069,124 12/1962 Roberts 248404 3,142,509 7/1964 Ehrke ct a1 29771 X 3,188,136 6/1965 Redfield et a1 248-404 X 3,219,306 11/1965 Johnson et a1 297-71 X FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner.

I. T. MCCALL, Assistant Examiner. 

